Penn State fires head coach James Franklin after 12 seasons

Penn State has fired head coach James Franklin after 12 seasons, the school announced Sunday.

Franklin is owed more than $49 million, according to his contract. This is the second largest buyout in college football history, behind Jimbo Fisher’s $76 million buyout from Texas A&M.

Associate head coach Terry Smith will serve as the Nittany Lions’ interim head coach for the remainder of the season, according to the school.

Less than a year after reaching the College Football Playoff semifinals, Franklin’s program appeared to hit a new low when the Nittany Lions traveled to Los Angeles two weeks ago only to lose to UCLA, a team that not only hadn’t won, but hadn’t previously held a lead all season.

Misfortunes returned home with the team to Penn State, and with them came “Fire Franklin!” chants at Beaver Stadium on Saturday. The Nittany Lions lost their second straight home game, and third overall, when they fell to Northwestern, 22-21, in front of a stunned Happy Valley crowd.

With these two losses, Penn State became the first team since the FBS and FCS split in 1978 to lose consecutive games while favored by 20 points or more in each game, according to ESPN Research.

In Saturday’s loss to the Wildcats, the Nittany Lions committed six penalties for 71 yards in the first half alone. They just could never get out of their way, and that was before quarterback Drew Allar suffered a season-ending injury in the fourth quarter.

Earlier in the season, when the losing streak began against Oregon in Happy Valley, Franklin fell to 4-21 at Penn State against top 10 AP opponents, including 1-18 against top 10 Big Ten teams.

Patrick Kraft, Penn State’s vice president for intercollegiate athletics, thanked Franklin in a statement announcing the move but said the school maintains its “athletics programs to the highest standards.”

“…We believe this is the right time for new leadership to lead our football program to advance us toward the Big Ten and national championships,” Kraft said.

Franklin’s .160 winning percentage against top 10 AP teams is tied for the third-worst record by a coach (minimum 25 games) at a single school since the polling era began in 1936, according to ESPN Research.